Golkonda Fort

One of the most spectacular monuments of India, Golkonda fort is located 11kms west of Hyderabad. This historic fort derives its name from the Telugu word “Golla Konda” which means Shepherd’s hill. The fort stands on a 400 ft high hill and was initially built by the Kakatiya dynasty in the twelfth century.

It was originally a mud fort but was later reconstructed in stone. This was done by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah Wali , the fourth Qutub king of the Qutub Shahi dynasty.

This dynasty had ruled the kingdom of Golkanda from 1512. The fort was rebuilt for the purpose of defense from invading Mughals from the north. They transformed it into a mighty fort which has three imposing walls one within the other that rise to a height of over 12m.

A deep moat surrounds the outer most wall covering a substantial area of the town with a circumference of 7km. Besides having walla ranging from a thickness of 17 to 34 feet, the fort also has 87 semi circular bastions which are 50 to 60 geet high.

This majestic citadel boasts 8 gates or Darwazas as they are known locally, the main gate being Fateh Darwaza which means Gate of Victory.The door is 13 feet wide and 25 feet high and is studded with steel spikes to protect it from charging elephants. All this rendered the fort impenetrable and made if one of the strongest forts of the Medieval Deccan.

Apart from its impressive exterior, there are quite a few attractions within the fort. One of the most impressive features of this fort is its acoustics system. By means of this system, a hand clap sounded at the fort’s main gate, the grand portico, can be heard clearly at the ‘Bala Hissar’, the highest point a kilometer away.

The Golkonda fort is divided into four distinct forts. The exceptional architecture still shines through in each of the apartments, halls, temples, mosques and even the stables.The important structures inside the fort are the striking Silai Khana, a three-storied armory building, Nagina Bagh, guide lines, Akkanna-Madanna Offices, Ramdas jail, Darbar hall and a Masjib founded by Ibrahim Qutub Shah. Moreover, the fort also has an ingeniously evolved water supply system.

Last but not the least, a visit to the Golkonda fort isn’t complete without the viewing of the Light and Sound show. It brings the legend of Golkonda to life.

37 comments to Golkonda Fort

Dear sir
You didn’t show the flower pattern in the ceiling of the portico.This portico has a peculiar sound effect. If we clap our hands once,standing in the middle, then it will be echoed infinitely many times.If we change our position to one meter outwards, this infinite echo will not be heard!!! Another effect: any sound produced here, how ever low it may be,will be heard at the top!!!

DEAR , FROM TOP PLACE WHEN KING USED TO CLAP ALL THE GUARDS AT EIGHT GATES USED TO BE ALERTED BY SOUND OF CLAP. A HUGE TREE NEARBY THIS FORT ALSO COULD ACCOMMODATE HUNDREDS OF SOLDIERS IN ITS CAVITY IS WORTH TO VISIT

I have visited this fort. found very nice and historical. At the day while we were visiting the fort there was a puja ceremony was performing by Hindus so the fort management not allowed us to visit more

Yes, I have seen this fort. It is a good example of engineering. Its hidden water supply system made this fort a hard nut to crack. Due to its door designs the elephants of enemies could not hit the doors with force as they had to take a turn to hit the doors and that turn made them slow and thus the impact of hit was not enough to break down the gate systems. Moreover in case of a danger the clapping sound made from top or bottom of the fort was a means of communication from a distance in code language.

I visited the Golkonda Fort in 1969 with my mother. I have visited many forts (called castles in the UK and Europe)in this part of the world, but Golkonda excells in planning,utility, and all technical aspects, the finest being the acoustic wonder, viz., how the king or nawab could hear a tiny hand clap under the dome (main entrance from the drawbridge) sitting on this throne about a kilometer away. Then the cooled air that would caress the king on the throne and how he could escape in emergency to the Charminar 6km or so away! O, then drinking water supply through a viaduct. And many more! (There is already some mention of these things above)

Sir,
Government should take interest in keeping some recorded information at every stage so that visitors need not depend on guides and by pressing a button they can here the importance of that place. This will help who can not afford guides.

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